Unevenly weighted sports ball

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to an unevenly weighted practice ball for sports (e.g., lacrosse) that, when used in training (e.g., in conjunction with a pitch back or rebounder), delivers the ball unpredictably to a player so that the player can improve their catching and reaction skills. Where the total weight of the practice ball is greater than that of a corresponding regulation ball, the player will also be benefitting from strength training.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of the priority date of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/235,677 filed on Oct. 1, 2015. Thecontent of the above-referenced application is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to sports balls that can be usedin training exercises to improve a player's reflexes and, moreparticularly, to sports balls (e.g., lacrosse balls) that are unevenlyweighted such that they rebound in random and unpredictable directions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many people, including students and their parents, value healthy andactive lifestyles, and organized sporting activities can be importantand enriching parts of such lifestyles. Increasing numbers of people areparticipating in sports, and participation in some sports, such aslacrosse and soccer, has grown tremendously in recent years. Lacrosse,soccer, and other sports that depend on ball-handling skills requirespeed, strength, and agility, and players often spend considerable timeand effort in training to improve their skills.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to unevenly weighted sports balls thatrebound unpredictably from, for example, a pitch back, rebounder, wall,or other surface. The unevenly weighted balls can be of the same overallweight as those allowed in regulation play, or they can be heavier orlighter. The heavier balls can be used to help improve a player'sstrength, and the lighter balls may be preferred by younger players orbeginners. The variability in the direction of the ball return forcesthe player to sharpen his or her focus and can improve coordination andreaction time. A further possible advantage of the sports ballsdescribed herein is that they may make training a more fun.

In one aspect, the invention relates to an unevenly weighted sports ballcomprising an elastomeric material and being defined by first and secondhemispheres. In some embodiments, the material in each hemisphere is thesame but there is a greater mass of the material in the first hemispherethan in the second hemisphere in at least one orientation of the ball.In other embodiments, the material in each hemisphere is different, withthe overall mass and/or density of the material in the first hemispherebeing greater than the overall mass and/or density of the material inthe second hemisphere in at least one orientation of the ball. In yetanother embodiment, ball comprises an outer shell having a cavitytherein and an inner body freely disposed within the cavity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1D show cross-sectional views of exemplary, unevenly weightedsports balls.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is an object of the invention to provide an unevenly weightedpractice ball that can be thrown against a surface, such as a wall or apitchback/rebounder, or propelled toward a player from a lacrosse stick,bat, paddle, racket, or the like. The ball is weighted unevenly suchthat it will move away from a surface (i.e., project or rebound from asurface) in an unpredictable manner that, in turn, assists a player inimproving his or her reflexes and ball-handling skills. While we tend touse the term “sports ball,” we may also use the terms “practice ball” or“training ball,” as it is much more likely the unevenly weighted ballswill be used in training exercises rather than in competitive games.

Regardless of the precise manner in which a practice ball is unevenlyweighted, it is to be understood that the extent of the weightdifference (i.e., the asymmetry of the weight in at least oneorientation of the ball) will be sufficient to affect the behavior ofthe ball relative to the behavior of a corresponding ball that meets theregulations for use in competitive events (a “regulation ball”). Inusing the sports balls of the invention, the player will be able toperceive a difference, for example, in the weight of the ball and/or themanner in which the ball bounces off a surface relative to the moreevenly weighted regulation ball. The asymmetry of the weight of in atleast one orientation of the ball has to be significant enough to affectthe manner in which the ball.

The invention encompasses sports balls used in any sport where apitchback or rebounder is used in practice or training (e.g., lacrosse,soccer, tennis, table tennis, squash, or racquetball) or where playerstrain by catching or “fielding” a ball (e.g., baseball, softball, andcricket). Accordingly, the size, weight, and other properties (e.g., thetexture, hardness, and appearance) of a sports ball of the invention cangenerally vary depending on the sport for which a player is training.For example, a sports ball of the invention designed to train lacrosseplayers can appear to be essentially the same as a regulation,substantially evenly weighted lacrosse ball. Where the appearances ofthe two types of balls (i.e., the regulation ball and the training ball)are similar, the training ball may be marked (e.g., by surface printing)to indicate that it is a training ball. In one embodiment, where thesports ball is a lacrosse ball, it can have a circumference of between7¾-8 inches, a weight between 5-5½ ounces, and a bounce between 43-51inches when dropped from a height of 72 inches onto a concrete floor inan area having a temperature of 65° F. The ball may be made of materialsof a regulation lacrosse ball (i.e., an elastomeric material or rubber).

In one embodiment, the unevenly weight sports balls will conform to thegenerally accepted size for a given sport and be substantially spherical(i.e., defined by two equal hemispheres). For example, a sport ball ofthe invention can have a circumference in the range of about 2 to about10 inches, inclusive.

Although unevenly weighted, the total weight of a practice ball may bethe same as that of a corresponding regulation ball. Alternatively, itmay vary from the generally accepted weight of the correspondingregulation ball for a particular sport and, where the total weightvaries, it may be either more or less than the weight of thecorresponding regulation ball. Where strength training is desired, thepractice ball will weigh more than the corresponding regulation ball. Inparticular embodiments, the practice ball can be about 10%, 25%, 50%,75%, 100%, 150%, 200%, or 300% heavier or lighter than the generallyaccepted weight of a corresponding regulation ball. These weights aregenerally known in the art. For example, a conventional baseball weighs5 to 5.25 ounces, a conventional tennis ball weighs 1.98 to 2.10 ounces,and a conventional lacrosse ball weighs 5 to 5.25 ounces.

Referring now to FIG. 1A of the drawings, an embodiment of the practiceball 100 is provided which comprises a substantially spherical bodymodified to have a hole 110 formed/bored partially therein. The hole canbe formed by drilling, punching, or pressing into an existing ball. Thehole may also be formed by molding or otherwise formed into the ballduring manufacturing. The spherical body may be formed from synthetic ornatural rubber or any other smooth, solid elastomeric materialappropriate for a particular sport. An elastomeric material is anelastic substance occurring naturally or produced synthetically. Someexamples of suitable elastomeric materials include natural or syntheticrubber (polyisoprene), polybutadiene, chloroprene rubber, polychloroprene, butyl rubber, styrene-butadine rubber, nitrile rubber,ethylene propylene rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber, polyacrylic rubber,silicone rubber, fluorosilicone rubber, fluoroelastomers,perfluorelastomers, polyether block amindes, chlorosulfonatedpolyethylene, and ethylene-vinyl acetate. The elasticity of theelastomeric material will be sufficient to allow the ball to reboundfrom a pitch-back (e.g., a commercially available pitch-back forlacrosse training) to a player. The spherical body may also be formedfrom foam or plastic. The hole 110 extends only partially into the ball100 and can be of any shape in cross section (e.g., round, square,rectangular, oval, etc . . . ). The hole can be of a length that isshorter than or equal to the radius of the ball. The hole 110 can bealigned with the diametric center 170 of the ball 100 or offset. Amaterial 120 that is either heavier or denser than the material fromwhich the spherical body is formed or a lighter or less dense than thematerial from which the spherical body is formed is disposed within thehole 110. In other embodiments, the hole can remain unfilled to lightenthe side of the ball in which it resides, with the outer surface of theball being optionally patched or plugged. Materials such as metals(e.g., steel, titanium, aluminum, or any alloy), ceramics, compositematerials, or wood can be disposed within hole 110. The material 120 canbe placed in the hole and sealed in place with either a cover or theentire surface of the spherical body can be covered over. Where thematerial of the sports ball permits it, a denser material in the formof, for example, a pin, may be driven into the sports ball (i.e., acylinder of denser material may come to reside within a hemisphere ofthe ball without drilling or defining a hole for its placement). Whilethe drawings generally illustrate the addition of denser material at onelocation, the sports balls can be similarly modified at a plurality oflocations to achieve the desired addition of weight and/or the desireddegree of weight asymmetry.

An alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. 1B, where one hemisphere 140of the spherical body 150 is formed from a denser material.Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 1C, a portion of one hemisphere 160 ofthe spherical body 180 may be formed from a denser material to providean unevenly weighted practice ball.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 1D, where thepractice ball 200 comprises a first substantially spherical body 220having a hollow core 240; and a second substantially spherical body 260that is disposed within the core of the first spherical body and movesfreely within the core. The second substantially spherical body 260 ismade of a material denser than the than the first substantiallyspherical body.

Typically, the term “about” as used herein means greater or lesser thanthe value or range of values stated by 1/10 of the stated values, e.g.,±10%. The term “about” also refers to variations that would berecognized by one skilled in the art as being equivalent so long as suchvariations do not encompass known values practiced by the prior art.Each value or range of values preceded by the term “about” is alsointended to encompass the embodiment of the stated absolute value orrange of values. Whether or not modified by the term “about,”quantitative values recited in the claims include equivalents to therecited values, e.g., variations in the numerical quantity of suchvalues that can occur, but would be recognized to be equivalents by aperson skilled in the art.

In case of any doubt, we wish to convey that a sports ball of theinvention can be free of any extraneous material. For example, it can befree of any anchor, appendage, base, clip, cord, elastic, fastener,line, loop, “sail,” tether, or other external attachment or extensionfrom the ball.

In another aspect, the invention features a lacrosse stick, tennisracket, ping pong paddle, bat, or the like that is reinforced to betterwithstand the added force exerted upon them by any added weight to thesports ball of the invention. For example, the webbing within thelacrosse stick may be reinforced. For example, the webbing can begenerally heavier or may incorporate a stronger or more resilientmaterial. Alternatively, or in addition, the webbing may be more tightlyadhered to the frame. Tennis rackets may be modified in essentially thesame ways to better withstand any added weight of the sports balls ofthe invention. Paddles and bats configured to be used in practicesessions with unevenly weighted sports balls may be heavier and/orstronger and any component parts (e.g., a handle and paddle face) may bemore robustly adhered to one another.

What is claimed is:
 1. An unevenly weighted sports ball comprising anelastomeric material and being defined by first and second hemispheres.2. The sports ball of claim 1, wherein the material in each hemisphereis the same but there is a greater mass of the material in the firsthemisphere than in the second hemisphere in at least one orientation ofthe ball.
 3. The sports ball of claim 1, wherein the material in eachhemisphere is different, with the overall mass and/or density of thematerial in the first hemisphere being greater than the overall massand/or density of the material in the second hemisphere in at least oneorientation of the ball.
 4. The sports ball of claim 1, wherein the ballcomprises an outer shell having a cavity therein and an inner bodyfreely disposed within the cavity.
 5. The sports ball of claim 1,wherein the ball further comprises a metal, ceramic, or wood.
 6. Thesports ball of claim 5, wherein the metal is aluminum, copper, iron,lead, nickel, tin, titanium, or an alloy thereof.
 7. The sports ball ofclaim 1, wherein the elastomeric material is natural or synthetic rubber(polyisoprene), polybutadiene, chloroprene rubber, poly chloroprene,butyl rubber, styrene-butadine rubber, nitrile rubber, ethylenepropylene rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber, polyacrylic rubber, siliconerubber, fluorosilicone rubber, fluoroelastomers, perfluorelastomers,polyether block amindes, chlorosulfonated polyethylene, orethylene-vinyl acetate.